Maricopa County Superior Court Clerk Chris DeRose, who was appointed to the position in March by Governor Doug Ducey and is now running for election to the position, has a history of failing to appear at his own court dates.

Since 2005, DeRose has missed seven court dates for parking-related offenses, according to court records.

Phoenix Municipal Court dismissed six of the seven offenses after DeRose failed to appear, but his bill totals $819, which he still owes to Phoenix.

DeRose is on the city's boot-and-tow-eligible list, which means an officer can immobilize his vehicle with a boot and tow it to a holding yard until his fines are paid. People are placed on the list if they have three or more unpaid parking tickets.

Asked about the offenses, DeRose said he knew nothing about them, had never received a summons and had never been contacted to pay the fines. His address has changed multiple times in the past 13 years, which could have led to the confusion, he said.

"I never received anything. If I knew I had an outstanding balance, I would've paid," he said.

DeRose said he will pay Monday

The seventh offense is the oldest and was handled by Scottsdale City Court. In 2005, DeRose was cited for a parking violation. He failed to appear for his initial court date but later pleaded guilty. The fine for that ticket was only paid off earlier this year, according to the court docket.

DeRose said he's been through two state background checks in recent years and had a credit check done in April when buying a house. He said the unpaid fines never were mentioned.

He said he would pay any outstanding fines on Monday.

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Finding a better process

In Phoenix, parking officers leave a ticket on an illegally parked car with instructions on how to pay the fine.

If not paid within 50 days, the ticket is sent to the city's court, which mails a summons to the individual. If the person does not pay the ticket before the court date and does not appear on his or her court date, the court enters a default judgment, which can be sent to a debt collector.

It does not appear that a debt collector ever contacted DeRose.

DeRose is running as a Republican to keep his position as clerk of the Maricopa County Superior Court.

He said his unpaid fines are an example of why he wants to adopt text-message technology that notifies people of summonses and court dates in a more accessible way.